40 years after King's assassination, his struggle, his words, his dream still shape the minds of lovers of peace all over the world. I agree with Tavis Smiley, the mainstream would like to cast Dr. King as a dreamer but those who understand the history know that even though Dr. King followed an ideology of non-violent resistance he was still seen as a serious threat and hated by many in the government and society in general in his day. Growing up in Chicago, for most of my young life learning about Dr. King I thought segregation and racism was a Mississippi thing, that is until I learned about his march through Cicero where the local residents attempted to stone him. Listen to him in this clip as he speaks out against the Vietnam war.
Monday, March 31, 2008
April 4th 1968 Martin Luther King is Assassinated
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Trinity United Church of Christ celebrates diversity. One man shares his experiences with Rev. Wright
Rev. Wright in a different light
By William A. Von Hoene Jr. **click to read the entire article**
March 26, 2008
I have been a member of Trinity, a church with an almost entirely African-American congregation, for more than 25 years. I am, however, a white male. From a decidedly different perspective than most Trinitarians, I have heard Wright preach about racial inequality many times, in unvarnished and passionate terms.
In Obama's recent speech in Philadelphia on racial issues confronting our nation, the senator eloquently observed that Rev. Wright's sermons reflect the difficult experiences and frustrations of a generation.
It is important that we understand the dynamic Obama spoke about.
It also is important that we not let media coverage and political gamesmanship isolate selected remarks by Wright to the exclusion of anything else that might define him more accurately and completely.
I find it very troubling that we have distilled Wright's 35-year ministry to a few phrases; no context whatsoever has been offered or explored.
I do have a bit of personal context. About 26 years ago, I became engaged to my wife, an African-American. She was at that time and remains a member of Trinity. Somewhere between the ring and the altar, my wife had second thoughts and broke off the engagement. Her decision was grounded in race: So committed to black causes, the daughter of parents subjected to unthinkable prejudice over the years, an "up-and-coming" leader in the young black community, how could she marry a white man?
Rev. Wright, whom I had met only in passing at the time and who was equally if not more outspoken about "black" issues than he is today, somehow found out about my wife's decision. He called and asked her to "drop everything" and meet with him at Trinity. He spent four hours explaining his reaction to her decision. Racial divisions were unacceptable, he said, no matter how great or prolonged the pain that caused them. God would not want us to assess or make decisions about people based on race. The world could make progress on issues of race only if people were prepared to break down barriers that were much easier to let stand.
Rev. Wright was pretty persuasive; he presided over our wedding a few months later. In the years since, I have watched in utter awe as Wright has overseen and constructed a support system for thousands in need on the South Side that is far more impressive and effective than any governmental program possibly could approach. And never in my life have I been welcomed more warmly and sincerely than at Trinity. Never.
I hope that as a nation, we take advantage of the opportunity the recent focus on Rev. Wright presents—to advance our dialogue on race in a meaningful and unprecedented way. To do so, however, we need to appreciate that passion born of difficulty does not always manifest itself in the kind of words with which we are most comfortable. We also need to recognize that the basic goodness of people like Jeremiah Wright is not always packaged conventionally.
Eugenics and Social Darwinism - Understanding African American Suspicion of the Medical System
I've come to understand that many people were surprised and even appalled that Rev. Wright would accuse the government of creating a disease to kill black people. I've seen some write that the Tuskegee experiments didn't really happen or were no big deal. Although I constantly see white Americans taking the Big Pharma and Medical industry to task because of their suspicion of the safety of vaccinations, I think because of the painful history of race in this country some refuse to accept the fact that African Americans have always been the target of unethical medical experimentation.
Please watch the entire interview with Harriet Washington M.D. author of Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present.The book reveals the hidden underbelly of scientific research and the roots of the African American health deficit. It also examines less well-known abuses and looks at unethical practices and mistreatment of blacks that are still taking place in the medical establishment today.
Part 2: Tuskegee and Medical Experimentation on Prisoners
Part 3: Current Times Behavioral experimentation, Forced sterilizations,Experimentation on children, and Africa as the lab for the west...
Saturday, March 29, 2008
David Sirota : Is Wright Right About Racism?
David Sirota was recently interviewed by a Colorado radio station regarding this topic. Listen to what he has to say about this and more HERE!
Since the 1960s, bigotry has undergone an aesthetic makeover. Today, the most pernicious racists do not wear pointy hoods, scream epithets and anonymously burn crosses from behind masks. They don starched suits, recite sententious bromides and stage political lynchings before television cameras. For proof, behold the mob stalking Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
Wright has long delivered fiery (and occasionally outrageous) sermons, to little fanfare. Now, though, a gang of thugs is inflicting a guilt-by-association blow to Obama by excoriating his spiritual adviser for three specific declarations.
Sean Hannity, Fox News' own George Wallace, turned a fire hose on Wright for his church's focus. "[The church] is all about the black community," Hannity thundered, claiming that means Wright supports "a black-separatist agenda."
Pat Buchanan billy-clubbed Wright for saying, "God damn America." The MSNBC commentator, who avoided the draft, implied that Wright, a former Marine, lacks sufficient loyalty to country. Out of context, Wright's exclamation was admittedly offensive. But remember: It punctuated a speech about segregation. Buchanan, nonetheless, unleashed, deriding "black hustlers" and insisting descendants of those "brought from Africa in slave ships" owe whites a thank you. "Where is the gratitude?" he asked.
Fox's Charles Krauthammer berated Wright for saying the 9/11 attacks were "chickens coming home to roost." Krauthammer labeled the pronouncement "vitriolic divisiveness" despite our government acknowledging the concept of "blowback" — or retaliation — Wright was referencing. The CIA knows that when it supports foreign dictatorships, there can be blowback from radicals. While blowback is often immoral and undeserved, its existence is undisputed. Yet, Krauthammer alleged that Wright takes "satisfaction in the deaths of 3,000 innocents."
In promoting the Wright "controversy," most media outlets joined this mob and embraced "colorblind racism," says Duke University's Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, author of "Racism Without Racists."
It is polite pinstriped prejudice shrouding bigotry in feigned outrage against extremism — the operative word being "feigned." After all, John McCain solicited the endorsement of John Hagee — the pastor who called the Catholic Church "a great whore." Similarly, according to Mother Jones magazine, Hillary Clinton belongs to the "Fellowship" — a secretive group "dedicated to 'spiritual war' on behalf of Christ." She is also friendly with Billy Graham, the reverend caught on tape spewing anti-Semitism. But while Wright's supposed "extremism" blankets the news, McCain and Clinton's relationships with real extremists receive scant attention.
Why is it "controversial" for one pastor to address the black community, racism and blowback, but OK for another pastor to slander an entire religion? Why is it news that one candidate knows a sometimes-impolitic clergyman, but not news that his opponent associates with an anti-Semite? Does the double standard prove the dominant culture despises a black man confronting taboos, but accepts whites spewing hate? Does the very reaction to Wright show he's right about racism?
Clinton seems to think so. Her aides have been calling the states they believe Obama will lose their political "firewall." That's campaign-speak for "race wall" — one built with bricks like Pennsylvania and Indiana. These aren't the near-purely white states where racial politics is often muted (and Obama won). They are the slightly diverse states where racial politics simmers and where the black vote is too small to offset a motivated racist vote. This race wall is now being fortified.
ABC News reports that Clinton's campaign is "pushing the Wright story" ahead of the Pennsylvania and Indiana primaries. The crass tactic is designed to motivate the racist vote by reminding whites of Obama's connection to the African-American community. Put another way, Clinton's message has become simply: Obama Is Black.
Wright probably expected this brouhaha. He says our government is "controlled by rich white people" and our culture afflicted by racism. Though these statements are also deemed distasteful by the Establishment, they are truisms. You can see their veracity in the collected portraits of white millionaires commonly called the congressional photo directory. Or, just turn on your television and watch the mob continue stoking the Wright "controversy."
David Sirota is a bestselling author whose newest book, "The Uprising," will be released in June of 2008. He is a fellow at the Campaign for America's Future and a board member of the Progressive States Network — both nonpartisan organizations. His blog is at www.credoaction.com/sirota.
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Truth Regarding the Hamas Distortion : Article was a RE - Print from the L.A. Times!
So now the media would like for you to believe that we are Hamas supporters again providing the masses with distortions of the truth...
On July 22, 2007 an article from the L.A. Times was re - printed in our church's bulletin on the Pastor's Page. This wasn't an article written by Rev. Wright. When you do READ the article it indicates that the author of that piece "rejects" the organizing premise of HAMAS, but does make "comparisons" to HAMAS' organizing document, to the writings and Basic Laws of Israel and to that of the United States, with respect to the oppression and dehumanizing of other persons, particularly black people, as a basic premise of the foundation of each of those states.
See the article originally published in the L.A. Times HERE
From my perspective, it is another "educational" piece, with the last paragraph thereof envisioning a peace between Palestine and Israel. The Pastor's Page, in my opinion has always been used to educate the members of the congregation on issues (across the spectrum) that they might not knowledge about -- and to broaden the congregation's critical thinking, and to provide a more informed lens through which to read and listen to traditional media reports of current events.
So no the assertion that Jeremiah Wright has ever authored any "Pro Hamas Terrorist Manifestos" is 100% FALSE. The assertion that Jeremiah Wright supports Hamas is 100% FALSE. If there are any complaints related to the printing of this article I would think that should be directed to the newspaper that published it not to our congregation for sharing it! Like I said before when will these journalist do their RESEARCH!
Dianna Bass : Putting Rev. Wrights Preaching Into Perspective
The current media flap over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former pastor, strikes me as nothing short of strange. Anyone who attends church on a regular basis knows how frequently congregants disagree with their ministers. To sit in a pew is not necessarily assent to a message preached on a particular day. Being a church member is not some sort of mindless cult, where individuals believe every word preached. Rather, being a church member means being part of a community of faith—a gathered people, always diverse and sometimes at odds, who constitute Christ's body in the world.
But the attack on Rev. Wright reveals something beyond ignorance of basic dynamics of Christian community. It demonstrates the level of misunderstanding that still divides white and black Christians in the United States. Many white people find the traditions of African-American preaching offensive, especially when it comes to politics.
I know because I am one of those white people. My first sustained encounter with African-American preaching came in graduate school about twenty years ago. I had been assigned as a teaching assistant to a course in Black Church Studies. The placement surprised me, since I had no background in the subject. But the professor assured me that "anyone with experience teaching American religion" would be able to handle the load.
The subject matter was not, as the professor indicated, difficult. The emotional content, however, was. To prepare, I had to read literally thousands of pages of black preaching and theology covering the entire scope of American history. While the particulars of preaching changed through time, one thing did not. Throughout the entire corpus, black Christian leaders leveled a devastating critique against their white brothers and sisters—accusing white Christians of maintaining "ease in Zion" while allowing black people to suffer injustice and oppression.
Typical of the form used by black preachers is Frederick Douglass' address, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" first delivered on July 5, 1852. The address, a political sermon, forcefully attacks white culture. "Fellow-citizens," Douglass proclaims, "above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wails of millions! Whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, today, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them." He goes on to calls American conduct "hideous and revolting" and accuses white Christians of trampling upon and disregarding both the constitution and the Bible. He concluded his sermon with the words, "For revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival."
This was very hard to take. I confess: nearly everything I read that semester pained and angered me. But four months of listening to voices that I wanted to reject made me different. I began to hear the power of the critique. I came to appreciate the prophetic nature of black preaching. I recognized that these voices emerged from a very distinct historical experience. And I admired the narrative interplay between the Bible and social justice. Over time, they taught me to hear the Gospel from an angular perspective—the angle of slaves, freed blacks, of those who feared lynching, of those who longed for Africa, those who could not attend good schools. From them, I learned that liberation through Jesus was a powerful thing. And that white Americans really did need to repent when it came to race.
Learning to listen was not easy. It took patience, historical imagination, and lots of complaining to my friends—even my African-American ones. Eventually, I figured out that even if your ancestors had been the oppressors, you can enter into the world of those who had been oppressed with generosity and a heart open to transformation.
As MSNBC, CNN, and FOX endlessly play the tape of Rev. Wright's "radical" sermons today, I do not hear the words of a "dangerous" preacher (at least any more dangerous than any preacher who takes the Gospel seriously!) No, I hear the long tradition that Jeremiah Wright has inherited from his ancestors. I hear prophetic critique. I hear Frederick Douglass. And, mostly, I hear the Gospel slant—I hear it from an angle that is not natural to me. It is good to hear that slant.
That is not, of course, comfortable for white people. Nor is it easily understood in sound bites. It does not easily fit in a contemporary political campaign. But it is a deep spiritual river in American faith and culture, a river that—as I had to learn—flows from the throne of God.
Diana Butler Bass holds a doctorate in American religion from Duke University. She is the author of six books including Christianity for the Rest of Us (HarperOne, 2006).
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wisdom Regarding Rev. Wrights Continued Attacks from the "Corporate Media"
By Des52
Years ago,in 1969 Dr. Martin Marty issued a challenge to his students at the University of Chicago Divinity school saying:
"Most church bulletins, church news letters and publications are in no way related to reality. When is the last time you picked up a church bulletin, church newsletter or a church publication and saw something remotely related to the real world in which the worshipers lived? You do not pick up those kinds of publications in a church. Church bulletins talk about their pastors anniversary, the choir concerts, car washes hosted by the youth and the bake sale hosted by the ladies. Church newsletters talk about church conferences, church business, fundraising and capital stewardship campaigns. People come into those sanctuaries, week after week from a world where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has been assassinated, where Malcolm X was murdered, a world full of racism, discrimination . . .war and insanity. The church publications however, say absolutely nothing about those realties that the members have to face and the realities with which the worshipers have to live immediately following the benediction."
As you can see from today's news Trinity strove to be relevant and followed that challange. But in myopic media fashion what Trinity talks about in the bulletin is predictably distorted. The media did not report Trinity's concern about Darfur, or Keke Palmer, or HIV Aids, no, they wanted to again paint Trinity as some left wing crazed church, not like "us."
Well, if blowing the trumpet about black women dying of AIDs means we are not like one of you, OK. If making a noise about corportions pressuring young black artists to do negative lyrics rather than positive age appropriate lyrics means we are not like you, OK. If pointing out the genocide in Darfur makes us not like one of you, so be it.
Thousands of years later the biblical lament is still true, "My people die for lack of knowledge" But not Trinity.
The media is upset again because Obama weathered the storm of the so called "Wright scandal." They are scratching their heads. Their arms are too short to box with God. So now here comes another trickle of charges, "look what he said in the bulletin."
As Dr. Marty notes, we do not have to agree with all of Rev. Wrights decisions, his choice of words, but thank God Dr. Wright challenged us to see, to look, to consider. We are all better for it.
When folks are mistreated, that is an ugly set of facts. Dr. Wright was not a bystander. The psychology of bystanders is focused on one of the following:
1. If I speak up they may come after me.
2. Nobody else is speaking up
3. Maybe the victim brought it on themself
4.It is not so bad
This happened in NY when neighbors watched a young women get raped. It happened in Germany when folks did not get involved while Jews were tortured. It happened on the Middle passage, through the years of slavery and through Jim Crow. Dr. Wright however, decided to look at the ugly set of facts that faces our world and do something. He is as imperfect as Oscar Schindler was. But like Schindler, he chose to see things he did not want to see, hear things he did not want to hear and spent his life and money to set folks free.
God bless him. And to those who are throwing him under the bus, I only have imprecatory thoughts about your actions.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Rev. Wrights Teacher and Friend Martin E. Marty : Prophet and Pastor
Through the decades, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. has called me teacher, reminding me of the years when he earned a master's degree in theology and ministry at the University of Chicago — and friend. My wife and I and our guests have worshiped at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where he recently completed a 36-year ministry.
Images of Wright's strident sermons, and his anger at the treatment of black people in the United States, appear constantly on the Internet and cable television, part of the latest controversy in our political-campaign season. His critics call Wright anti-American. Critics of his critics charge that the clips we hear and see have been taken out of context. But it is not the context of particular sermons that the public needs, as that of Trinity church, and, above all, its pastor.
In the early 1960s, at a time when many young people were being radicalized by the Vietnam War, Wright left college and volunteered to join the United States Marine Corps. After three years as a marine, he chose to serve three more as a naval medical technician, during which time he received several White House commendations. He came to Chicago to study not long after Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder in 1968, the U.S. bombing campaign in Cambodia in 1969, and the shooting of students at Kent State University in 1970.
Wright, like the gifted cohort of his fellow black students, was not content to blend into the academic woodwork. Then the associate dean of the Divinity School, I was informally delegated to talk to the black caucus. We learned that what Wright and his peers wanted was the intense academic and practical preparation for vocations that would make a difference, whether they chose to pursue a Ph.D. or the pastorate. Chicago's Divinity School focuses on what it calls "public ministry," which includes both conventional pastoral roles and carrying the message and work of the church to the public arena. Wright has since picked up numerous honorary doctorates, and served as an adjunct faculty member at several seminaries. But after divinity school, he accepted a call to serve then-struggling Trinity.
Trinity focuses on biblical teaching and preaching. It is a church where music stuns and uplifts, a church given to hospitality and promoting physical and spiritual healing, devoted to education, active in Chicago life, and one that keeps the world church in mind, with a special accent on African Christianity. The four S's charged against Wright — segregation, separatism, sectarianism, and superiority — don't stand up, as countless visitors can attest. I wish those whose vision has been distorted by sermon clips could have experienced what we and our white guests did when we worshiped there: feeling instantly at home.
Yes, while Trinity is "unapologetically Christian," as the second clause in its motto affirms, it is also, as the other clause announces, "unashamedly black." From its beginning, the church has made strenuous efforts to help black Christians overcome the shame they had so long been conditioned to experience. That its members and pastor are, in their own term, "Africentric" should not be more offensive than that synagogues should be "Judeocentric" or that Chicago's Irish parishes be "Celtic-centric." Wright and colleagues insist that no hierarchy of races is involved. People do not leave Trinity ready to beat up on white people; they are charged to make peace.
To the 10,000 members of Trinity, Jeremiah Wright was, until just a few months ago, "Pastor Wright." Metaphorically, pastor means shepherd. Like members of all congregations, the Trinity flock welcomes strong leadership for organization, prayer, and preaching. One-on-one ministry is not easy with thousands in the flock and when the pastor has national responsibilities, but the forms of worship make each participant feel recognized. Responding to the pastoral call to stand and be honored on Mother's Day, for instance, grandmothers, single mothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, gay-and-lesbian couples, all mothers stood when we visited. Wright asked how many believed that they were alive because of the church's health fairs. The members of the large pastoral staff know many hundreds of names, while hundreds of lay people share the ministry.
Now, for the hard business: the sermons, which have been mercilessly chipped into for wearying television clips. While Wright's sermons were pastoral — my wife and I have always been awed to hear the Christian Gospel parsed for our personal lives — they were also prophetic. At the university, we used to remark, half lightheartedly, that this Jeremiah was trying to live up to his namesake, the seventh-century B.C. prophet. Though Jeremiah of old did not "curse" his people of Israel, Wright, as a biblical scholar, could point out that the prophets Hosea and Micah did. But the Book of Jeremiah, written by numbers of authors, is so full of blasts and quasi curses — what biblical scholars call "imprecatory topoi" — that New England preachers invented a sermonic form called "the jeremiad," a style revived in some Wrightian shouts.
In the end, however, Jeremiah was the prophet of hope, and that note of hope is what attracts the multiclass membership at Trinity and significant television audiences. Both Jeremiahs gave the people work to do: to advance the missions of social justice and mercy that improve the lot of the suffering. For a sample, read Jeremiah 29, where the prophet's letter to the exiles in Babylon exhorts them to settle down and "seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile." Or listen to many a Jeremiah Wright sermon.
One may properly ask whether or how Jeremiah Wright — or anyone else — experiences a prophetic call. Back when American radicals wanted to be called prophets, I heard Saul Bellow say (and, I think, later saw it in writing): "Being a prophet is nice work if you can get it, but sooner or later you have to mention God." Wright mentioned God sooner. My wife and I recall but a single overtly political pitch. Wright wanted 2,000 letters of protest sent to the Chicago mayor's office about a public-library policy. Of course, if we had gone more often, in times of profound tumult, we would have heard much more. The United Church of Christ is a denomination that has taken raps for being liberal — for example for its 50th anniversary "God is still speaking" campaign and its pledge to be open and affirming to all, including gay people. In its lineage are Jonathan Edwards and Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr, America's three most-noted theologians; the Rev. King was much at home there.
Friendship develops through many gestures and shared delights (in the Marty case, stops for sinfully rich barbecue after evening services), and people across the economic spectrum can attest to the generosity of the Wright family.
It would be unfair to Wright to gloss over his abrasive — to say the least — edges, so, in the "Nobody's Perfect" column, I'll register some criticisms. To me, Trinity's honoring of Minister Louis Farrakhan was abhorrent and indefensible, and Wright's fantasies about the U.S. government's role in spreading AIDS distracting and harmful. He, himself, is also aware of the now-standard charge by some African-American clergy who say he is a victim of cultural lag, overinfluenced by the terrible racial situation when he was formed.
Having said that, and reserving the right to offer more criticisms, I've been too impressed by the way Wright preaches the Christian Gospel to break with him. Those who were part of his ministry for years — school superintendents, nurses, legislators, teachers, laborers, the unemployed, the previously shunned and shamed, the anxious — are not going to turn their backs on their pastor and prophet.
Martin E. Marty is a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School and a panelist for On Faith, of Washingtonpost.com. His most recent book is The Christian World: A Global History (Modern Library, 2008).
Find out more about Martin E. Marty HERE
To Know Rev. Wright Is To Love Rev. Wright
I found this great post over at the daily kos. I've found so many great stories from people both white and black about their encounters with Rev. Wright....
Which brings me to Dr. Wright and Barack Obama. See, I know Dr. Wright. In the 90’s, I recorded his sermons at the Interdenominational Ministers Conference in Harrisburg, PA. Every year, for 10 years, I provided live sound and recording services for this week long revival. For 5 days in a row, Dr. Wright would preach, and I would record. It was a challenge for a lot of reasons. First, all of these preachers start at a bare whisper, and end up at full volume. But if you try to turn them down, they will tell you over the PA system "Don’t you touch that fader!!!". They work the mic, they work the system, and they work the crowd. Where I recorded from, I couldn’t see the stage. One night, I heard this awful thumping noise coming from Dr. Wright’s mic, but I lost his voice. As I crept onto the wing of the stage, I saw why - he was swinging the mic on the cable, and pounding it on the stage as he exhorted the crowd to let Jesus into their hearts. I didn’t love that part, but the crowd did. Dr. Wright walked backstage, grinned at me, and said "Send me a bill for the mic."For one week of each year, for 10 years, I hung out backstage with Dr. Wright, Dr. Owens, Dr. Moss, Jr. and Dr. Moss III, who has succeeded Wright at Trinity. As the only white guy in this crowd, and an atheist to boot, it was uncomfortable, at first. Mostly for them. So they solved it by declaring me an "honorary Negro", and trying to convert me. It made for some interesting conversations.
So what did I hear? I heard a man preach who loved Jesus with all his heart. He loved people with all his heart. He even loved me with all his heart, even though it was probably hard for him to walk in my shoes. He tried his best to make me see the light, and he never gave up on me. I heard him say things about white people in his sermons that were not flattering. I also, and more often, heard him say things about black people that were not flattering. He preached that no-holds-barred, do-the-right-thing, eye-for-an-eye stuff that is so hard to live up to, but was for him the only acceptable way to live. Dr. Wright did not turn me into a black militant. But he did turn me into a white atheist who spent a lot of time thinking about what it might be like to grow up as a black man in the America he knows. He helped me to wear those shoes, at least for a little while, and he tried to wear mine.
Imagine my surprise a week ago, when there he was, in all his Pentecostal glory, on the TV, saying "God Damn America!" What could have made him say such a thing? Maybe it was the segregated bathrooms, restaurants, hotels, busses, trains, and planes. Or was it the dogs? The fire hoses? the billy clubs? The nooses? Or maybe it was serving in the Marines, and coming home to be spit on and denied even the pretense of equality, in a country where the watchword was "Know your place."
Dr. Wright and Dr. Moss Jr. marched with Dr. King. Try marching in those shoes for a minute. Hate pouring on you like lava, fear in your heart because you know that many of the people lining the streets would happily kill you because of that one chromosome that gave you black skin, and because you had the temerity to insist that you be treated equally? I can walk in those shoes in my mind, but I don’t think I could do it for real, because I don’t have that much courage. Dr. Wright did. My Dad did too.
I didn’t intend for this to be about my father at all - I intended for it to be about the things I talked about at the start. But as I’ve written more and more, I’ve realized how much I miss my father, especially right now. Because I could have told him about Dr. Wright. I’m sure my Dad would have been offended by Wright saying "God Damn America." My father fought for this country, and his knee jerk reaction would be that you don’t say things like that out loud. But I would have enjoyed telling my Dad that Dr. Wright fought for this country, too. He fought for the right to be able to say "God Damn America" in places where you can’t say things like that. I know what my father would have said when I told him that Dr. Wright has spent 40 years helping people who couldn’t help themselves, and who America had forgotten. I know what my father would have said when I told him that Dr. Wright was very kind to me.
Read the post HERE
Pastor Wright's Sermons Now on iTunes
Pastor Wrights sermons are now available on iTune!
Find his sermons HERE
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Black Liberation Theology - A Conversation with James Cone
James Cone is one of the fathers of Black Liberation Theology. While you might not agree with everything he has to say keep in mind I'm not proselytizing! But since we've been encouraged to engage in this dialog about race and everyone wants to know why Black preachers teach the way the do, let the scholar break it down for you!
Can't wait to see your comments :)
**keep it civil please**
[CORRECTED] Even Hillary Clinton's Former Church Supports Rev. Wright!
GOD IS TOO GOOD!
A STATEMENT CONCERNING THE REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of times. He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. He has been a vocal critic of the racism, sexism and homophobia which still tarnish the American dream. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear. Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize. This is a critical time in America's history as we seek to repent of our racism. No matter which candidates prevail, let us use this time to listen again to one another and not to distort one another's truth.
Dean J. Snyder,
Senior Minister Foundry United Methodist Church
March 19, 2008
Here are some additional sources :
Politico
Huffington Post
Foundry United Methodist Church
Thanks des52!
Salon : Rev. Jeremiah Wright isn't the problem
And guess what, I agree with them 100% ;). Actually the writer has some criticisms of Pastor Wright, but thats fine.
Wright isn't the problem. Stupid patriotism is the problem.
We are now five years into a war that may outrank Vietnam as the most pointless and disastrous one in our history. George W. Bush and his neoconservative brain trust conceived that war, but they were only able to push it through because the American people, their political leaders and the mainstream media signed off on it. And they did so because they were in the grip of the fearful, vengeful, patriotic frenzy that swept the nation after 9/11. Without 9/11 and America's fateful reaction to it, there would be no Iraq war. Every day that the war drags on is yet another indictment of that self-righteous, unthinking "patriotism."
Bill Clinton's line that McCain and Hillary are "two people who love their country" may or may not have been intended to subtly denigrate Obama's patriotism. But whatever it meant, it didn't have anything to do with the actual problems facing the country. Loving America more than your opponent does is not a qualification for higher office.
In fact, the same all-American flag-wavers who called loudest for war against Iraq are now denouncing Wright as a hate-monger and a traitor, and attacking Michelle Obama for saying that only recently has she had reason to feel proud of her country. They insist that anyone who is not permanently proud of the United States, whose patriotism isn't plastered on his or her face like the frozen smile of a beauty queen waving from a Fourth of July float, is beyond the pale. Never mind that the glorious results of their debased version of patriotism -- 4,000 American troops dead, a wrecked Iraq, and a greatly strengthened terrorist enemy -- are plain for all to see.
You wouldn't expect the Republican Party, Fox News, Bill Kristol or the readers of FreeRepublic to issue any mea culpas -- they don't acknowledge that they've done anything wrong. But the mainstream media's pious tut-tutting over the Wright affair shows that it, too, has learned nothing from its disgraceful post 9/11 performance. The worst excesses of media groveling -- the flag pins, the instructions not to run anti-U.S. stories -- may be history, but the timorous mind-set remains the same.
Its reaction to Wright shows that the American establishment still cowers before the patriotic idol. It cited the "God damn America" sermon again and again, like the Spanish Inquisition ritually intoning the words of some heretic before drawing and quartering him. It didn't matter that Wright uttered his curse in the context of demanding that America live up to its ideals -- all that mattered were those three talismanic words. Anyone this angry, our media gatekeepers solemnly informed us, must be rejected. The only question was whether Obama was irrevocably tainted by his association with the evildoer. Wright's "chickens coming home to roost" line about 9/11 produced the same unthinking, reflexive reaction. How dare this apostate suggest that America might not be blameless, that its actions could have had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks?
Read the Complete Article HERE
Peter Gomes : The Pastor as Prophet
I just love biblical scholars don't you?
Peter J. Gomes is Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in The Memorial Church, Harvard University, and a best-selling author. He's written a really good piece about our current situation entitled "The Pastor as Prophet" :
"While I could not possibly agree with everything that Jeremiah Wright says, I do know that when a preacher, especially a black urban preacher, fails to speak truth to power and refuses to speak of what is wrong in the ardent hope of making it right, that preacher is, in Milton’s words, a “blind mouth,” and a repudiation of God’s solemn call to him. Preachers, despite much evidence to the contrary, are not called to celebrate the status quo, even an American status quo, and when they do their job properly they call us all to a higher standard. Preachers are not perfect, nor are they the only people allowed to be credible critics of our time and place, but they are among the very few whose vocation it is to make us aspire to something other than the status quo. For too long we have made God an ally in the American way; the highest standards of preaching in America require that we should seek to be God’s ally, helping God and one another to create a world in which we seek to live as God would have us live. To criticize America is not a sin, but it is a sin to mistake America for God, and it is both sin and dereliction of duty to fail to note the difference."
Read the entire article HERE
Monday, March 24, 2008
Rev. Wright and Rev. Otis Moss III receive their Sermons from the Bible NOT The Obama Campaign
- Fox News - I anticipated that if Barack Obama got very far in the Democratic Primary it would only seem natural for FOX to attack him. I'm sure he saw the writing on the wall as well when he found out that Rupert Murdock is a Hillary Clinton supporter!!! So like everyone else, with popcorn in lap, I anxiously awaited the blood letting. You can imagine my horror when I realized some of that blood would be my own faith community.
- Why they do this - Admittedly, I've always been a bit skeptical about the fairness of our democratic process. I've had the opportunity to vote in the last 3 presidential elections and I noticed early on that people's emotions were being manipulated. I wasn't quite sure if this was the case but I read up on the philosophies of Freud and Berneys and how these philosophies have been used by politicians to bring the worst out of us all. I believe Michael Richards referred to this as 'what lies beneath the surface'. In 2004 it was Terry Shiavo and Gay marriage. In 2008 the irrational political non issue seems to be what are the Negroes doing talking about politics and oppression in church on Sunday and why do the 'ungrateful Negroes' complain why don't they go back to Africa!
- Lou Dobbs - Today Lou Dobbs gave his opinion on Pastor Moss's Easter Sermon all in a tizzy! He also was particularly irritated by the lynching metaphor, and questioned WHY THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN ISN'T DOING SOMETHING?? THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN HAS TO STOP THIS. Mr. Dobbs, hate to inform you but we aren't part of Obama's campaign. Our Pastors develop their sermons straight from the Word of God, not Axlerod, not Hannity, and not YOU, Sir! No matter the results of this election, the Word of God doesn't change. Jesus had compassion for the poor! Jesus fed the hungry! Jesus went into to the temple and raised Holy Hell! Jesus Christ was considered a "liberal" by that days scribes and pharisees! If Jesus were among us today, I'm positive he would have marched against the War in Iraq! Trinity United Church of Christ Cares for our communities spiritual AND their social needs JUST LIKE JESUS DID
"Politicians and planners came to believe Freud's underlying premise - that deep within all human beings were dangerous and irrational desires and fears. "
Sunday, March 23, 2008
I've heard that our most prestigious members aren't at church 'Every' Sunday!!
Trinity United Church of Christ is a Christian community that serves the spiritual needs of people from all walks of life. We have high school drop outs, recovering drug addicts, and ex felons sitting side by side in worship with judges, doctors, pilots, and dare I say it... POLITICIANS. I received a very interesting comment today and under current circumstances I feel it appropriate to share :)
comments:
--------------------------------------------------
So glad to be back with Trinity. I tried to tune in last week only to find your broadcast not aired. I regret the public scrutiny your congregation has been under, unjustifiably. I found myself defending your church and your pastor to the uninformed in my community. Ive attached my observations:
Allow me to respond to the controversy surrounding Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. As someone who has frequently visited and continues to participate in services for Trinity UCC via the Internet, I can view Rev. Wright from another lens. As the faith leader for a large congregation, he brings his leadership and guidance to the African-American community coupled with a love for his country. That has led to his passionate disapproval of American government under the Bush administration. I have listened over the years to scathing attacks of President Bush put into the context of religious scripture "Its in the Word"). The parallels can be drawn due to his perceived dismissals of tending to the needs of the poor and downtrodden, views that many of us share. While the sound bites being aired through the media have been edited to espouse the view of a man obsessed with hate and disdain for his country, nothing could be further from the truth. The beauty of Rev. Wrights Sunday messages has been his ability to weave a story pulling from the context of past injustices and making the connection with present day turmoil. When only a sound bite is presented, one is left to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations.
I'm sure Senator Obama was drawn to Rev. Wright as he recognized the mans intellect, his eloquence, and his passion for moving our country in the direction of justice and equality. He doesn't hesitate to admonish his predominately African-American congregation for its foibles and call them to task when their behavior proves counter productive. He is multilingual and has traveled extensively to foreign countries.
Now let me tackle another part of the argument. When questions were raised as to why Senator Obama did not openly object to inflammatory statements there might be a perfectly innocent reason. My daughter attended Trinity church for a number of years and she never saw Senator Obama or his family in the congregation. I recently read an article about Presidents and government officials discussing how they tend to be affiliated with a church, however, they may not attend church on a regular basis. When Senator Obama made the statement that he wasn't there when the statements were made, you can believe that because it fits his pattern.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Audacity To Hope : FULL AUDIO
This sermon has impacted so many lives. When I'm at my lowest point in life, I MAKE myself listen to it. Enjoy....
Part 1
Part 2
Friday, March 21, 2008
You Guys Know Fox News is a Right Wing Propaganda Machine!
Thank you for hearing me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been praising God all morning. Kind of overwhelmed actually but very excited about my new blogosphere friends. Now back to business. You know you can't believe anything coming from Fox News! Here is the full context of the infamous 'hate sermon'
** 9 minutes please here **
you can see many more of his sermons HERE http://www.youtube.com/user/TRINITYCHGO
Thursday, March 20, 2008
My Pastor received a Commendation for Assisting In the Heart Surgery of President L. B. Johnson 1966
Doing such a fine job during the surgery of President Lyndon B. Johnson .. **can you see him standing there behind the pole :)
This is the man they are characterizing as a anti - white racist!
Don't go there people.....
UPDATE - Okay, I'm going through comments MY LORD!!! Just to clarify though, Pastor Wright wasn't President Johnson's nurse nor was he just 'the guy who wheeled the president in'.
Pastor Wright was a cardio pulmonary technician at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
His full bio is here http://www.answers.com/topic/jeremiah-wright
My Pastor Has Represented Us Well
Friday September 11, 1998 in honor of Religious Leaders.....
He's always been such the statesmen!
Pastor Wright was invited to the White House TWICE! This man is a true patriot and a powerful minister of the gospel.
Tim Wise : Of National Lies and Racial Amnesia
I've been following Tim since I was a youth. Again he demonstrates a white man who's actually taken the time to look at racial issues through an academic lens. He needs to visit trinity. Trinitarians would totally love him! Read the entire article HERE
But here we are, in 2008, fuming at the words of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago--occasionally Barack Obama's pastor, and the man whom Obama credits with having brought him to Christianity--for merely reminding us of those evils about which we have remained so quiet, so dismissive, so unconcerned. It is not the crime that bothers us, but the remembrance of it, the unwillingness to let it go--these last words being the first ones uttered by most whites it seems whenever anyone, least of all an "angry black man" like Jeremiah Wright, foists upon us the bill of particulars for several centuries of white supremacy.
But our collective indignation, no matter how loudly we announce it, cannot drown out the truth. And as much as white America may not be able to hear it (and as much as politics may require Obama to condemn it) let us be clear, Jeremiah Wright fundamentally told the truth.
Oh I know that for some such a comment will seem shocking. After all, didn't he say that America "got what it deserved" on 9/11? And didn't he say that black people should be singing "God Damn America" because of its treatment of the African American community throughout the years?
Well actually, no he didn't.
Wright said not that the attacks of September 11th were justified, but that they were, in effect, predictable. Deploying the imagery of chickens coming home to roost is not to give thanks for the return of the poultry or to endorse such feathered homecoming as a positive good; rather, it is merely to note two things: first, that what goes around, indeed, comes around--a notion with longstanding theological grounding--and secondly, that the U.S. has indeed engaged in more than enough violence against innocent people to make it just a tad bit hypocritical for us to then evince shock and outrage about an attack on ourselves, as if the latter were unprecedented.
Truth Has No Color
I'm starting to believe that this is why people should be required to take critical thinking courses and also a thorough course in American History.
I think that Mr. Cahill gives a fair representation of the state of race relations in America. We're both the most racist and the least.
I'm going to have to seek out some of this man's books.
Boyce Watkins: Why The United Nations Agrees with Pastor Jeremiah Wright
Boyce Watkins has done an excellent piece regarding the validity of Pastor Wright's positions. In short here's what he said :
Wanna read more?? Click HereYou think Jeremiah Wright is a lunatic? Let’s look for objective analysis, shall we?
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recently issued a scathing report about racism in America. In the report, the committee cited the following:
- The mass incarceration of black men in our prison systems. America has the largest prison population in history and half of those men are black. The problem is that black people are only 13% of the general population.
- Inadequate legal defense for these individuals, leading to a higher likelihood of incarceration.
- Longer prison sentences for the same crimes for black men and a disproportionate willingness of our government to kill these men when they are on trial for murder.
- Segregated school systems leading to far worse education for black children.
- The disenfranchisement of individuals with criminal records, denying them the right to vote, and significantly reducing their opportunities for employment for the length of their entire lives.
You see, I am with Jeremiah Wright on this one. I applaud him for having the courage to speak the truth in support of people of color. Pastor Wright is a doctor, offering medicine to a country that is truly sick. We allow the Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannitys and Bill O’Reillys to continuously attack people of color, while millions of blind Americans listen to these uneducated monsters continue the most horrific traditions of our nation.
Senator McCains Pastor Believes There's a Genocidal Plot against African Americas Too!
It looks like my Pastor isn't the only one who believes that the government has been complicit in plots against blacks in America too. I wonder why this doesn't get as much play. If you closed your eyes they almost sound alike!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Black Liberation Theology 101
Let's clear up the misconceptions surrounding Black Liberation Theology!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88552254&sc=emaf
A Closer Look at Black Liberation TheologyListen Now [3 min 53 sec] add to playlist
All Things Considered, March 18, 2008 · Presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) defended his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, on Tuesday, even as he repudiated some of the pastor's inflammatory sermons. But Wright's comments likely come as no surprise to those familiar with black liberation theology, a religious philosophy that emerged during the 1960s.
Black liberation theology originated on July 31, 1966, when 51 black pastors bought a full page ad in the New York Times and demanded a more aggressive approach to eradicating racism. They echoed the demands of the black power movement, but the new crusade found its source of inspiration in the Bible.
"God's presence in the world is best depicted through God's involvement in the struggle for justice," says Anthony Pinn, who teaches philosophy and religion at Rice University in Houston. "God is so intimately connected to the community that suffers, that God becomes a part of that community."
Freedom and Liberation
Dwight Hopkins, a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, says black liberation theology often portrays Jesus as a brown-skinned revolutionary. He cites the words of Mary in the Magnificat — also known as the "Song of Mary" — in which she says God intends to bring down the mighty and raise the lowly. Hopkins also notes that in the book of Matthew, Jesus says the path to heaven is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. And the central text for black liberation theology can be found in Chapter 4 of Luke's gospel, where Jesus outlines the purpose of his ministry.
"Jesus says my mission is to eradicate poverty and to bring about freedom and liberation for the oppressed," Hopkins says. "And most Christian pastors in America skip over that part of the book."
Hopkins attends Trinity United Church of Christ, where Rev. Wright just retired as pastor. In the now-famous sermon from 2003, Wright said black people's troubles are a result of racism that still exists in America, crying out, "No, no, no, not God bless America! God damn America — that's in the Bible — for killing innocent people."
According to Hopkins, that was theological wordplay — because the word "damn" is straight out of the Bible and has a specific meaning in the original Hebrew.
"It means a sacred condemnation by God to a wayward nation who has strayed from issues of justice, strayed from issues of peace, strayed from issues of reconciliation," Hopkins says.
A Loud, Passionate, Physical Affair
Anthony Pinn of Rice University acknowledges that black liberation preaching often sounds angry. But he says the anger does not advocate violence but is instead channeled into constructive routes. Trinity UCC, he notes, has 70 ministries that help the poor, the unemployed, those with AIDS or those in prison. Pinn says the words can be jarring to the untrained ear, but they're still valid.
"Folks, including myself, may be taken aback by the inflammatory nature of the rhetoric, but I don't think very many of us would deny that there is a fundamental truth: Racism is a problem in the United States," Pinn says.
Black liberation preaching can be a loud, passionate, physical affair. Linda Thomas, who teaches at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, says the whole point of it is to challenge the powerful and to raise questions for society to think about. Thomas says if white people are surprised by the rhetoric, it's because most have never visited a black church.
"I think that many black people would know what white worship is like," Thomas says. "Why is it that white people don't know what black worship is about? And I think that is because there is this centrality with white culture that says we don't have to know about that."
Obama presents himself as uniquely situated to bridge those two cultures because of his biracial heritage. In his speech on race Tuesday, the presidential hopeful said he could no more disown his controversial pastor than he could disown his white grandmother.
"These people are a part of me. And they are part of America, this country that I love," Obama said.
He denounced the harshness of Wright's words — not because they were false, he said, but because they did not acknowledge the strides that the U.S. has made in the fight against racism. Obama said his own candidacy shows how far the country has come.
EnlargeThe Truth Is Trinity is Loved By Many
I can't say enough about the fact that I'm always hugging people in the pews that are different races at Trinity. I know we also get a lot of support in the online community. Even in the mist of all the controversy, people are able to see Pastor Wright for the genius he really is. Thank God someone gets it!
I am white, 58 years old, born and raised a Catholic (lapsed after the first eight years of school with nuns!) in a French-Canadian community in Nashua, NH. I spoke only French until I was 15 years old, when my dear grandmother passed away and French was no longer strictly required at home, and I started high school with mostly English-only classmates. As recently as 10 years ago, my boss at the time decried that the authors of a report we were reviewing were "ESLers," to which I replied, "I'm an English as a second language guy myself," and he quickly turned on his heel. I still get dinged for my occasional quasi-European grammatical constructions. Most amusing/distressing, is that I also get dinged for having a difficult-to-pronounce and too-fancy name: Rene de Pontbriand (renny d-PONT-bree-end), like it's my fault for making their life so miserable by embarassing them into trying something different. My wive and I both wo rked hard, finally earning our Ph.D. degrees in our mid-30s. This was especially big for me, as the first high school graduate in the family.
Beyond this admittedly stringy common experience, what I really want to express here is my deep admiration not only for Senator Obama and yesterday's speech, but for Reverend Jeremiah Wright. I have listened to his "Audacity to Hope" sermon twice now, on the Internet, in part out of curiosity and in part out of believing in and wanting more background on his more recent sermon making the rounds, the fiery one.
"Audacity" had to be one of the most marvelous sermons to have heard, and we should all be proud of the reasons it could be delivered in these fine United States. Here is a man, Pastor Wright, for whom, had things happened slightly differently or at a different time, could have become a wonderful national leader to us all. I can easily hear the heart and even the cadence and the eloquence he so generouslty passed along to Barack; there is no mistaking it. And there is no mistaking why Barack is proud to honor this fine man. As for the fiery words on the Internet, of course there are many ways he could have said what he did. I, along with many other Americans, direly agree that the U.S. has rubbed the rest of the world's nose in our greed and selfishness for far too long. We're doing it again to the developing countries---they are either ignored altogether (Darfur, Somalia; not to mention Native Americans) until it's too late; attacked; or railed against for wanting to start their industry the same ways we did: by ignoring the long-term environmental and global good. Why was this God's Will for us, but Satan's doing for them? As for his other "controversial" phrasings, except for the "god damn america" which was a bit over the top although I fully understand and appreciate his intention, that's the way of the pulpit.
The fervor in this type of sermon does tend to frighten Whites, who are largely innocent here---we rarely needed to scold ourselves in this way into fighting for a better life for our children and theirs. Even that is changing, we can feel it, that the next generation will have a lower standard of living. Two and a half billion dollars a week for Iraq; it is beyond comprehension how we ever let Bush start that, or why we are still there with people being blown up every day, or how to extricate ourselves and the Iraqi people without bringing more misery to that entire region. What of their children's children? How long will they be made to pay for our actions? So many unanswered questions, but there are really no nice answers there.
Let me cap my thoughts here. Thank you all for supporting Reverend Jeremiah Wright, for nurturing that kind of soul, and for finally sharing his words with the rest of us. I am so very grateful.
Why I chose Trinity
You know it's hard to watch yourself become entangled in a media frenzy. Being that this is an election season, I've found myself really relating to others who've experienced this type of scrutiny, like the workers at Terry Shiavo's hospice, and the many gay and lesbian brothers and sisters who found themselves on t.v. and turned into a political issue.
I consider myself a media savvy person, so I understand how sound bites have been used to ruin peoples credibility. But first and foremost I'd like to share what brought me to Trinity UCC and why I won't leave.
Every human being, at some point and time, embarks on a search for 'self'. I began my search in high school where I came across new world views and philosophies. I was exposed to KRS One, Malcolm X, and Nelson Mandela just to name a few. When I asked my Sunday school teacher about Mandela he told me "Nelson Mandela is a communist and that's why he was put in prison". I vividly remember asking him if Moses were black, the whole youth group laughed, as if what i was asking was preposterous. I believed that I was being lied to! I believed that the Christian community embraced 'white supremacy' so I listened even closer to KRS One and Public Enemy. It wasn't hard to convince me that Christianity was 'The White Man's Religion' or that 'We were Muslims" when we were brought to America as slaves. Christianity to me, started to represent white men in sheets and subdued black people praying for a better after life. So I began to reject Christ.. FOR MANY YEARS!
I visited Trinity at the invitation of my Aunt, whom I admire. She's one of those radical revolutionary sisters that I would read about in my studies in college. A true product of the 60's, educated and world traveled. At one point in her life, she found herself accepting the teachings of the Black Hebrews. I was shocked when i found out THIS woman was now "Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian"?!?!?!? So to service I went. What I found still shakes me to the core. This man, Jeremiah Wright, who I'd never heard speak before, showed me who I really am.. THROUGH SCRIPTURE!
Black .. Yes.
Flawed .. Yes.
Bruised... Yes.
Redeemed by Jesus... YES!
All these years of searching.. It was Jeremiah Wright who showed me that Jesus had already set the example for me and my life and could relate to everything I was going through as a Black woman to the teachings of Christ! The man is no lunatic!
I'm proud to say that I'm Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian. This statement is not racist. It's merely an affirmation of what God has made me!